While people here were each wrapped up in their own thoughts, someone else was seething with anger over there.
"Mother, why do you want me to marry someone else as the queen?"
That's right. As soon as the young emperor finished the court session, he heard this shocking news.
Shi Muyuan never intended to hide it from him. It was only natural that he came charging over like this.
She poured herself a cup of tea with her slender hands.
"Your Majesty, don't be so hasty to get angry. I was just about to discuss this matter with you."
"There's nothing to discuss. I've always intended for Hui'er to be my queen from the start. She'll be the only one in my harem. Didn't you teach me that before, Mother?"
He had truly grown up. He even used her own words against her.
However, it was only reasonable for the young emperor to be so angry.
Shi Muyuan endured it silently until the young emperor got tired of ranting and took a sip of tea.
"If you can't give me a good reason today, Mother, I'll just stay here and not leave."
With his childish tantrum, Shi Muyuan couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"It's good that Your Majesty can protect the one you love. But what if you've misjudged her?"
Although she had just talked things out with He Hui, some doubts still lingered in her mind.
These doubts made the young emperor's anger flare up again.
"Mother, you used to bring us two together, but now, just when things were about to come to fruition, you suddenly stopped us. What's the reason for this?"
"Your Majesty, calm down first. You probably don't know what the national teacher has found out yet, do you?"
"What do you mean? You actually investigated the one I love behind my back. This is simply not putting me in your eyes."
"Your Majesty is overthinking. We didn't target Miss He on purpose. It was just a coincidence that she became the object of our suspicion."
Shi Muyuan told the young emperor everything she had discovered today and all her previous speculations without leaving out a single word.
"Rather than keeping someone so unpredictable by your side, I'd rather find someone easier to handle. Besides, other than her family background, Jin Miner is in no way inferior to Miss He."
After hearing this, the young emperor understood his mother's good intentions.
But he still thought it all seemed rather absurd.
"He Hui doesn't seem like a scheming person at all."
"We'll know the truth after you two get married. Does Your Majesty still resent my decision now?"
The young emperor pursed his lips. "I still need to see for myself. The family background of the Queen of the Great Liang is not important, but she must have a clean background."
After reaching this compromise, their relationship eased up.
After much thought, the young emperor decided to go and see He Hui first.
He was eager to verify his mother's words, and Shi Muyuan didn't stop him.
Everything needed to be uncovered slowly.
At night, the young emperor disguised himself and planned to secretly visit He Hui. As soon as he arrived, he noticed a furtive figure.
He knew that figure all too well. Instead of making a sound, he silently followed it.
This quiet tailing led him to a shocking secret.
The person who usually cowered in his arms in fear actually had such excellent lightness skills.
What surprised him even more was that He Hui had come to a small lake that he didn't even know about.
"Thank goodness I reacted quickly today, or I would have been discovered by the Empress Dowager."
The Concubine He turned around and said helplessly.
"The Empress Dowager doesn't seem to want to give you the position of the queen. What are you going to do about it?"
"The things I left with you back then should still be there, right?"
"Yes. What do you need those things for? Are you planning to deal with the Empress Dowager?"
"She's already started to suspect me. If I don't do something, I'm afraid I'll be found out in the end."
All of their conversation fell into the young emperor's ears not far away.
He could have stepped forward and confronted them, but he hesitated at that moment.
He Hui was clearly not as simple as she seemed. She and Concubine He must have some sort of conspiracy, and it was directed at his mother.
He stood there stiffly in the distance until the two of them left without noticing him.
After they had completely disappeared, he still decided to tell his mother about this.
But on his way back, memories of all the things he and He Hui had experienced together flashed through his mind.
"Do I really have to do something to He Hui? Maybe she doesn't want to do these things either. Maybe she was forced. If I tell Mother about this, with the help of the national teacher and the eldest young master, they can easily capture He Hui."
By then, he might have to watch the one he loved die in his arms.
Just thinking about that scene made him hesitate.
In the end, the young emperor returned to his bedroom in a daze.
The next day.
He tidied himself up, not wanting anyone to detect anything amiss.
But at the door, he ran into the person he had been thinking about day and night.
At that moment, his emotions were extremely complicated.
However, as the person got closer, he still forced a smile and stepped forward to greet her.
"Why are you here so early in the morning?"
He Hui lowered her head, looking aggrieved.
"I haven't seen you for a long time. I went to the Shoukang Palace yesterday, and it seems that the Empress Dowager has a very poor impression of me. Your Majesty, do you think the Empress Dowager will sever our relationship?"
She deliberately used the word "sever". If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes last night, he might not have had any doubts about her words.
Thinking about what he had seen last night, although he didn't plan to tell his mother for the time being, he still felt extremely repulsed by the touch of the person in front of him.
He pulled his hand away coldly.
"Mother is a reasonable person. If you hadn't done something seriously wrong, she wouldn't have any complaints about you."
The man's abnormal behavior set off alarm bells in He Hui's mind. However, she didn't press the issue. Instead, she took two steps back, with a hint of sadness in her eyes.
"If Your Majesty doesn't want to see this commoner girl, then I'll take my leave. I won't disturb Your Majesty anymore."
After saying that, she left gracefully, as if she were the one who had been wronged.
But the young emperor didn't do anything.
He began to wonder what He Hui's sudden initiative today meant.
As he thought about it, he remembered what she had said to Concubine He last night, and a terrifying thought popped into his mind.
"Could it be that she's trying to get close to Mother through me?"
The national teacher happened to come over and heard this. He found it rather strange.
"What are you thinking about, Your Majesty? Why aren't you getting ready to go to court?"
The young emperor quickly snapped out of it and forced a laugh.
"I was just thinking about some matters related to the court. There have been too many things going on recently. I'll have to trouble the national teacher to help me out."
The national teacher never had any doubts about the young emperor, even though he was a bit puzzled by what he had just said.
"Your Majesty is being too polite. As your subject, it's only natural for me to help you deal with these court affairs. You'd better go to court quickly. I'm sure those people have been waiting for a long time."